Family values: Wayans back for ABC sitcom

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It's a family reunion for Damon Wayans and ABC.

Wayans, star of the network's long-running comedy "My Wife & Kids," is back co-creating and toplining a new multicamera family sitcom for the network.

Like "Wife," the untitled project will be written and executive produced by Wayans and Don Reo and produced by ABC Studios. It is said to be edgier in tone than "Wife" and will star Wayans as a recent widower who has to take in the 19-year-old stepson he never knew.

"Wife," which starred Wayans as a father of three, bowed out in April 2005 after five seasons. Since then, Wayans and Reo had been looking to collaborate on a new series project and, after bouncing around different ideas, settled on the premise of a widower living with his stepson.

The project garnered interest from several networks before landing at ABC with a script commitment.

The Wayans/Reo project marks the second multicamera family comedy starring a black comedian that ABC has in the works for next season. The network also greenlighted a pilot for a sitcom starring Cedric the Entertainer, which starts production next week.

Wayans is repped by ICM and attorney Bob Lange. Reo is repped by Paradigm.